


Mute

by S0methingCreativ3



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst, Child Abuse, Childhood Friends, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change, tagged relationships are the end goals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-09 09:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18635665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S0methingCreativ3/pseuds/S0methingCreativ3
Summary: Jeongin wasn’t always mute. No, he used to be a very excitable child, kind-hearted and outgoing. Always smiled. His mother called him her sunshine.No. He wasn’t always mute. That had started when heaven decided to call his mother back home, tearing a rift in his family and leaving him without a home.They always say that Home is where the heart is. The problem was, Jeongin was unsure if his heart still existed.Cross-posted on Wattpad, @G0BTSG0





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This story is currently still a WIP, but I've got roughly another two chapters ready to post. I just wanted some feedback, you know, weather or not this story is something people would want to read.  
> Just let me know^^

**_ BEWARE OF MENTIONS/DESCRIPTIONS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE/CHILD ABUSE _ **

**_ ~*~ _ **

"Innie, look! Minnie's pink crayon has the prettiest shades in it!" An innocent, excited, voice had called out to him. The voice is one he'd never forget. Han Jisung, holder of the title 'Innie's bestest friend in the whole of ever' as of pre-school.

Jeongin picked his head up from where he was focused on coloring his own page, an overly-animated version of spider-man swinging past a very tall building. He tilted his head, "Minnie got,, pink crayons?"

"Yeah! There's so many shades and ones even sparkly!" Jisun giggled, shoving the page forward with outstretched hands while Minho, three years Jeongin's elder, stepped up behind the excited boy.

"Mom took me out shopping yesterday, after I complained about my red crayon breaking. Let me get a whole new pack!" the second grader said, smile wide as he held the crayon out in front of him.

Jeongin smiled, setting his own crayon down on his page before standing up, "It's really really pretty, hyung!"

Before anything else could be said, the door to the classroom swung open, and in stepped the elementary school's principal. All of the children in the recess room went quiet, looking on as he made his way to speak with the Kindergarten supervisor.

Not too long after, she had hurriedly nodded and ushered the principal out the door before turning and calling Jeongin over.

"Hey sweetie, your dad's waiting outside for you okay? Gather your things."

"Daddy? It's not time for pick up though..." Jeongin trailed off, confusion evident in the little child's voice.

"I know love, but today pick up time has changed, okay? Hurry now." She said, shooing the boy off.

Jeongin gathered his things quickly, humming as he carefully closed his coloring book and picked up his crayons. Minho and Jisung had followed the other boy to where his backpack was sitting, helping him put his things away.

"Here, Innie. Miss Kay looked upset, keep it with you. We'll see you tomorrow!" Minho said, grabbing the youngest's hand and placing his new sparkly pink crayon in the boys hand.

Jeongin gave him a smile, thanked him quickly, and skipped off to the entrance of the recess room. Miss Kay was there to open the door, ruffle his hair, and wish him a good afternoon before sending him off with the Principal to make his way out front to meet his father.

Jeongin's world collapsed on him that day.

_ **~TS: fifth grade~** _

"Okay but, Donkey Kong is obviously superior! Who doesn't like a monkey that strong?" Jisung's offended voice broke through Jeongin's train of thought.

"Me! I don't like monkeys, Sungie, they're too intelligent. They could take over the world!" Minho's voice fired back, disbelieving that Jisung could even suggest such a thing.

Jeongin closed his Berenstain Bears book and huffed, sitting up enough to reach forward and flick the back of Jisung's head, eliciting a yelp and a defensive swing of the elder's arm behind him.

"Fine fine, sorry! Stop flicking me you know how sensitive my head is-"

"What head?" Minho butted in, stifling a laugh as Jisung sputtered.

Jeongin let a small smile take over his features, and he shook his head as he relaxed back into the couch. It was good to see his friends again, the summer transition between fourth and fifth grade being a bit of a struggle for Jeongin and his family. He wasn't allowed out of the house.

"Innie, please tell Hyung to stop teasing me!" Jisung whined, turning to face the youngest of their little trio with an over-exaggerated pout.

Jeongin only raised his hands and shook his head, a sign that he didn't wish to be involved in the middle of their bickering about Jisung's head.

His attention was brought back to his book, picking it up and thumbing at the pages for a second before stopping. He was still for a moment before he tossed the book back down and reached into his bag that was sitting by his feet, and pulled out his old coloring book.

Jeongin didn't hear the other two stop talking as he pulled the book out. Didn't notice their concerned stares as he flipped the pages open, slowly looking through the messy scribbles of color.

Neither of them said a thing as Jeongin turned to  _that_  page, or as the sparkly pink crayon fell out of the book and into the fifth-graders open palm.

Nothing was said, but when the youngest started to tear up, the elder two carefully sat on either side of him and shushed him to the best of their abilities.

_ **~TS: one quarter into Freshman year, mothers death anniversary week~** _

Glass shattered somewhere to his right. Flinching harshly at the sound, he choked back another sob as his father's angry yelling continued. Every harsh word, every slur, every insult that came out of the man's mouth, it was all directed to his son, who lay curled up in the middle of the living room.

This happened every year. Every single year since his mother had passed. Jeongin endured harsh yelling, sometimes a punch or two to the face, as his father unleashed his anger, his anguish. The blood stains on the carpet were enough proof of that.

"Useless fucking child! Can't even speak! What good are you ever going to be, huh?" The man growled, stepping closer.

Jeongin only curled into himself more, knowing what was coming.

Rough hands grabbed at the kid's hair and yanked upwards, not giving Jeongin any time to react before a fist had connected to his jaw.

The night continued, just like this, until all Jeongin could remember was that he'd always be a useless piece of shit.

Unworthy of the life he'd been given.

**_ ~Small TS: about a week later~ _ **

"Holy shit, Jeongin, what happened?!" Minho's worried voice snapped him out of whatever haze he was in.

Jeongin's eyes flickered up, but went back to his shoes just as quick. He stood from the bench, legs trembling a little under his own weight as he dug around in his pocket. Pulling out a folded piece of paper, Jeongin held it and looked it over once, twice, before looking up again and holding it out to Minho.

The elder hesitated, but took the note from his freshman best friend anyway, concerned eyes widening as Jeongin simply turned around and began to walk away, leaving him with unanswered questions and a letter written in sparkly pink crayon.

It took everything in him not to turn around and beg Minho to help him.

_Min-hyung and Sungie-hyung.  
_ _I know I disappeared for the anniversary longer than usual this year. I'm sorry. Father had some... news to share.  
_ _We're moving. I'm not allowed to say where, as Father wishes that myself and my sister cut off all ties here, in hopes we, as a family, can finally move on from the bad memories here.  
_ _I'm technically not supposed to even let you know I'm leaving. But what Father doesn't know won't hurt him, right? Hyungs used to tell me that a lot...  
_ _Minho-hyung, I just wanted to thank you. You stuck with me through a lot, even when you didn't have to. You lost cool highschool friends because you were friends with me. I don't think I'll ever find a friendship like ours again. I'm going to miss you.  
_ _Jisung-hyung... To you, I am most sorry. I know how you made it your life's mission to protect me from the world, but you can't. The world we live in is cruel, and unforgiving. I wish for you to keep your smile, even when you feel like you shouldn't, because a frown doesn't suit your squirrel cheeks.  
_ _Both of you, please keep your friendship close.  
_ _I'm sorry._

_~Jeonginnie_


	2. The Prologue: Continued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically just me being dumb and needing to finish off the beginning timeline, sorry

Sophomore year is when it all went to shit.

Jeongin’s father just couldn’t take anymore yearly reminders of his late wife. He’d use Jeongin as a punching bag, something to relieve his stress. It started off happening only on the anniversaries, but it slowly progressed to a monthly occurrence. Then a weekly one. Then it was nightly. It wasn’t a surprise that Jeongin got fed up with it all, taking a month to gather the courage to do what he thought was the best for him.

He ran away that night, a small bag with some cash he stole from his sister and some food, yet no one seemed to care enough to go in search of the boy.

_**~TS: to right before Junior year~** _

Jeongin forgot how harsh winters could get in Korea. Forgot that without the proper protection, frostbite was a deadly effect of the cold. 

Stumbling down the small incline, Jeongin lost his footing on a loose rock, stumbling forward and rolling until his palms slammed to the snowy concrete underneath the bridge. He really didn’t have a will to get up, only curled into himself as his tears dripped into the snow underneath him. If this winter didn’t kill him, starvation definitely would. It wasn’t long before the boys shivers were forgotten as the dull blackness lulled him into sleep.

_**~Small TS: next morning~** _

Warmth. Gentle hands and hushed humming. Soothing words and an unfamiliar voice. Definitely not something Jeongin thought he’d ever wake up to. 

He wasn’t quite back in his head yet, the soft honey voice above him trying to pull him back under the clutches of sleep. He fought it for a moment, wishing to hear more of the sweet caramel that was the source of the warmth surrounding him. He didn’t hold out long though, and was out again before he could put a name to the familiar song.

_**~Small TS: A day and a half~** _

“When do you think he’ll wake up?” Words breached Jeongin’s mind as he slipped out of his unconscious state.

“Soon. His skin’s regained some color, and he’s been out too long already. I highly doubt he’s gone comatose.” A deeper voice, to his left? Were there people around him?

“Poor kid… Frostbite almost had him.”

“I thought he was well past saving when we found him. Let’s just be glad we didn’t get there any later, yeah?” 

A responding hum was heard, and then there was a hand combing through Jeongin’s hair. He flinched at the initial contact, not used to such gentle hands. 

When he flinched, the hand stilled, and Jeongin took this as his que to try and get his heavy eyelids to open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here we go, the next post will be a full chapter, im sorry this is so short lmao


	3. My Hesitance to Call You Home

Jeongin’s vision was blurry, but there were two figures hovered above him. He blinked a few times so he could see a little clearer, and the two boys in front of him held worried and relieved expressions. 

“Your medical training isn’t useless after all, Lix.” The one to his right said, a small smile directed at Jeongin.

Jeongin only closed his eyes again, furrowing his eyebrows as a sharp pain raced up his back when he tried to move. Large, gentle hands grabbed his arms to halt his movements, and the boys eyes opened again.

“Try not to move too much just yet, okay? Can you speak?” The one on his left asked, orange hair falling into his face only to be swiped away easily.

Jeongin averted his eyes, shaking his head in such a small movement it was barely noticed.

“Okay… do you think you have anything too sore to stop you from sitting up?” Another question was fired.

Jeongin made a small noise in his throat before he shook his head, wiggling his fingers and toes to check and see if he could still move the basics.

“Channie, sit him up? Slowly.”

The hands previously on his arms moved carefully underneath his back and behind his neck, providing support as he hauled the small boy into a sitting position. 

_**~*~(Awkward TS bc,, i couldnt. sorry.)~*~** _

Skipping the strange first month of knowing the Australians, Jeongin would say they’re now his friends. Not quite the same as Minho and Jisung, but friends nonetheless.

Communication wasn’t easy at first, but Chan quickly picked up learning sign language with Jeongin, surprised the boy didn’t already know it. The look he received after asking about it was enough to get him to back off the topic for now. And soon enough, whenever Jeongin joined in on the conversations, he was easily understood.

The trio lived together, under Chan’s technically illegal custody, and life was okay. For the first time since kindergarten, Jeongin felt safe.

Safe enough to speak.

_**~*~** _

It didn’t come easily. Jeongin knew it’d take a while, which is why he used every second of alone time he got in the apartment trying to speak to himself, to practice words and test his volume.

Three months of self speech therapy was what it took for him to finally feel comfortable enough to speak in front of the other two. So that’s what he did.

Stepping out of his room, Jeongin steeled himself with a few deep breaths before making his way where he heard the voices of his friends chatting in the kitchen.

The two had grown accustomed to how quiet Jeongin was when walking around, so it wasn’t surprising when Felix noticed his footsteps enter the kitchen. “Jeonginnie, what’s on the dinner menu for you tonight?” He asked with a smile, reaching into the fridge to pull out the milk jug.

The quiet voice that responded was unexpected, both boys freezing up when they heard it. “Just some ramen is fine…”

The gallon of milk slipped out of Felix’s fingers and, thankfully, onto the counter before the science continued. Jeongin stood awkwardly at the doorway, wringing his hands together anxiously while he waited for whatever reaction this would pull out of his friends.

Chan was the first one to react, stepping forward with hope in his eyes. “I didn’t just imagine your voice, did I?”

Jeongin gave a hesitant smile, shaking his head as he opened his mouth again. “No hyung… I think I found my voice again…” He spoke, voice only slightly dry as he was still getting used to using it. 

The tears that sprung into Chan’s eyes immediately after the words were spoken surprised him, and he hurriedly stepped forward and made a strained sound in his throat, worried he’d done something wrong. Chan only shook his head and reached out, carefully wrapping his arms around Jeongin’s small frame and hugging him close, Felix jumping on top of both of them soon after.

For a moment, he considered calling these two Home. But as soon as that thought entered his head, his heart ached for the two he’d left behind all but two years ago.

The trio spent the night on the couch, television muted as they discussed anything and everything they could until they’d fallen asleep. If Chan woke up at six to call into work that day, the other two didn’t need to know about it.

_**~*~** _

The Kim brothers came along sometimes after Chan had gotten Jeongin back into the school systems for his Junior year. Seungmin, the younger of the two brothers, had been one of the only people to take notice of Jeongin’s presence in some more advanced classes the kid had with the Seniors. 

Their meeting wasn’t anything special. Jeongin had just clicked his phone off with a huff, shoulders slumping as he looked back up. His ride had just been delayed by an hour, but he knew walking would be quicker than that. So that’s what he did.

He didn’t notice that someone had slowed down just enough to be walking in pace with him until three minutes after it had happened. His head snapped up when he noticed the second pair of converse matching him step for step on his journey home, turning only to come face to face with the top of the senior class.

Seungmin looked over at the motion of Jeongin turning his head, giving a small smile and a nod. Jeongin was confused, but he didn’t mind the company.

The next day, the Junior found himself asking Chan if he could walk home instead.

_**~*~** _

It took another two days of walking home before Seungmin spoke to him.

“You really don’t talk much, do you?” The question filled the usually comfortable silence, both parties turning to look at eachother. 

Jeongin simply shook his head with a sad smile, fingers messing with his backpack strap that was hung loosely over his left shoulder.

Seungmin hummed and nodded, looking forward again. “That’s okay. I’m not too much of a talker myself most of the time.” 

Their silence continued, and Jeongin found he was quite thankful the other didn’t push into the matter at all.

_**~*~** _

The two boys had settled into a routine, waiting for each other outside of the school gates after school before beginning their walk. It had become such an easy routine to fall into after a month, both boys usually very timely about meeting each other.

So when Seungmin was five minutes behind when he’d usually show up, Jeongin was concerned. He’d looked around the parking lot for a minute before noticing a muted red car pull into the lot messily, parking half in one spot and half in another. Someone familiar stepped out of the car and slammed the door, jaw clenching as he began to storm for the doors.

It wasn’t hard to recognize the face of Kim Woojin, Seungmin had shown him enough pictures during some classes they shared as they’d gotten a closer friendship. So Jeongin acted on impulse and jogged up to the elder, catching up right at the doors to the school.

Woojin paused, noticing someone had been following him halfway through the parking lot and turned, hand raising to run through his hair as he opened his mouth to ask something. But Jeongin flinched at the sudden movement, instinctively stepping back and stumbling a bit before steading himself.

Woojin was frozen, looking at the boy with evident confusion on his face. Jeongin merely stared back, attempting to shove his fear down, rationalize that the elders hand was only raised to fix up his hair.

“Sorry…” Woojin mumbled, still confused but feeling like he had a relative idea of what had happened. 

Jeongin just nodded before he signed ‘it’s okay.’ Woojin tilted his head before shaking the questions from it, taking the boys face in before recognition hit him.

“Jeongin? You’ve got classes with my brother.” Receiving a small smile and a nod, Woojin hummed. Then he remember why he came to the school in the first place.

The elder cursed, turning and swinging the door open, motioning Jeongin to follow him inside. His instructions were followed easily, Jeongin slipping into step with the older Kim as if it were natural.

“Do you know anything about that fight?” Woojin asked, navigating his way through the hallway carefully as he looked for the nurse’s office.

Jeongin’s eyes widened and he shook his head, worry immediately filling his mind.

They found the nurse's office a minute later, both boys stepping in and taking in the sight of Seungmin sitting in a chair, leaded back with an ice pack over his eye.

Jeongin made a surprised sound in his throat, rushing forward to check his school friend over. Once finding no immediately concerning damage done, other than his obvious black eye, the junior slapped Seungmin’s shoulder in a lame attempt of reprimanding him.

Seungmin was surprised to see the younger walk in with his brother, but at the same time he didn’t really expect less. The slap he saw coming, and he tensed his arm in preparation, laughing quietly to himself. “Innie, I’m fine, I promise. Just a black eye, nothing major.”

After Woojin spoke with the nurse about the situation, Seungmin was ready to leave. The brothers lead the way through the hallways and outside, Jeongin falling behind a bit to pull out the phone Chan had given him and text the elder to update him on his whereabouts with a promise of an explanation as well as a few apologies for being late.

“Innie, want a ride home?” Seungmin asked, turning to look at his younger friend.

Jeongin bit the inside of his cheek, nodding slowly after a moment of hesitation, wondering if imposing on the two’s time together and making Woojin go out of his way to bring him home was okay. 

But Woojin unlocked his car, waving Jeongin over to get in, telling both of them to sit in the back as the front seat was currently full of files from Woojin’s college classes.

The drive to Jeongin’s apartment didn’t take too long, the only issue they had was finding a parking spot in the apartments full lot.

Seungmin had spent half of the ride there beggin Woojin to let them go inside and meet Jeongin’s brothers. That’s how he ended up opening the door to the apartment, the Kim brothers in toe.

Jeongin reached forward and flicked the bottom chime on the one hung up next to the door. It did its job well, as both Chan and Felix stepped out of their rooms.

The Australians were happy to have Jeongin’s friend and his older brother over, only spending a minute or two worrying over Seungmin’s bruised face. After that and a quick introduction, Chan had asked the brothers to stay for dinner.

They had accepted easily, Woojin stating that neither of them really had anything to do on a Friday night like this.

_**~*~** _

After dinner, Chan sent the younger ones out to the living room to go choose a movie and gather blankets so he could have a chat with Woojin. 

Signing for Felix to take out Chan’s Marvel collection with a snicker, Jeongin dragged Seungmin down the hall to collect the blankets from the bedrooms. By the time the two returned, the Marvel set was out and the first movie was opened and already in the player, ready to go.

The five of them squished onto the couch, Jeongin somewhere between and on top of Felix and Seungmin respectively, absentmindedly messing with Felix’s small hands as he watched the movie.

Four movies later and Woojin finally caved to just letting him and Seungmin spend the night, sending a text to their father to let him know their location.

They made it to movie six before everyone had fallen asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand I'm skipping around a lot IM SORRY!!   
> If you have questions please comment and I'll try my very best to clear it up for you. I promise, from here on out it gets clearer, more of a steady time flow.


End file.
